Dr. Sam Parnia, Director of the AWARE Study, discusses the changing boundaries of life and death, out of body experiencer, Graham Nicholls overviews 130 years of psychical research, and Ryan Hurd gives us a healthy dose of succubi, in this week’s edition.
- On April 5th, Michael Grosso will be giving an upcoming talk at the Rhine Research Center regarding the levitating Saint, Joseph of Copertino, and his relation to some of the deeper questions raised by parapsychology. (Rhine Research Center)
- Paul Devereux, a regular contributor to Reality Sandwich, and Research Fellow with the International Consciousness Research Laboratories group at Princeton University, will be giving an upcoming talk on “Time, Place & Mind” for the Anthropology, Consciousness & Culture lecture series. The talk will be March 27, at Blackwell’s Books in Bristol, UK. (Anthropology, Consciousness & Culture)
- On their Facebook page, the Parapsychological Association has been posting excerpts from a special supplemental issue of the Journal of Parapsychology, which, in celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the journal, asked 32 leading parapsychologists the question: “Where Will Parapsychology Be in the Next 25 Years?” (Parapsychological Association – Facebook)
- The Exploring the Extraordinary 5th conference will take place on the 20th-22nd September, in York, United Kingdom. You can read the Call for Papers on the Exploring the Extraordinary website, or email the organizers at ete.network at gmail dot com for more information.
- On March 8th Dr. Nancy Zingrone will be presenting a talk on “Ghosts, Poltergeists and Hauntings: A Romp through the History of Psychical Research” at the Rhine Research Center in Durham, North Carolina. If you can’t make the event in person, it will also be accessible as a webinar. (Rhine Research Center)
- On March 10th, the Institute of Noetic Sciences is hosting Wagner Alegretti and Nanci Trivellato of the International Academy of Consciousness for an event which will feature their research into the out-of-body experience, and how it can be used as a tool for personal development. (Institute of Noetic Sciences)
- On March 12th our very own Daniel Pinchbeck is hosting an Evolver Intensive focusing on the ‘Edge Realms of Consciousness’ with Remote Viewing pioneer Russell Targ, novelist Tony Vigorito, occult researcher Conner Habib, and lucid dreaming expert Ryan Hurd. This is a webinar that brings the Edge Realms anthology into more active service, and your opportunity to talk with some of the folks exploring these liminal realms of consciousness and culture. (Evolver Learning Labs)
- On March 16th, the Dutch Society for Psychical Research will feature Ed May, Lab. for Fundamental Research , for a webinar titled: “Whatever Happened to Star Gate? Military & Intelligence Use of Anomalous Cognition.” (Dutch Society for Psychical Research)
- This week we have two essays from Edge Realms contributor, and lucid dream researcher, Ryan Hurd discussing the erotic realm of sleep paralysis, and ecstatic encounters during hypnagogic trance.
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- Over at The Teeming Brain, Hurd discusses “Real Succubus Tales: Sleep Paralylsis and the Genesis of Erotic Horror.” (The Teeming Brain)
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- On his own Dream Studies site, Hurd discusses the “Ecstasy of Lucy Liu: Erotic Encounters in Hypnagogia.” (Dream Studies)
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- The differences between Out of Body Experiences and lucid dreaming can often be confusing for those just jumping into this area of research, here’s a recent article that tries to tease out what makes each phenomena unique. (The Inky Feather)
- Sharon Hill of Doubtful News has created a ‘Media Guide to Skepticism,’ which details her vision of the skeptical field, and proper application of the process of skepticism. (Doubtful News)
- Benton Bogle, writing for the Rhine Research Center blog, has a great piece up on the importance of remembering that anomalous experiences are often related to interpersonal relationships, or personal meaning. (Rhine Research Center)
- A recent study, reported by Ben Radford, looks for correlations between children’s’ night terrors, and their ability to discern the difference between fantasy and reality. Studies like these fall into the category of “anomalous psychology,” which seeks to find potential conventional answers to explain for anomalous experiences. This can help to isolate the differences between a “real” anomalous experience, and something predicated by personal, or group, pathology. (Discovery News)
- Tomas Rees highlights another study in the vein of ‘anomalous psychology,’ which looks at the personality characteristics of those who report having had an experience with what they felt was a discarnate entity. (Epiphenom)
- Another area of psychology that runs tangentially to parapsychology is the field of Transpersonal Psychology, which seeks a positive way to deal with threshold experiences by working with traditional practices in light of contemporary science, as detailed in this recent post from Robert Searle. (Esoteric Other Worlds)
- An article in the Houston Chronicle discusses John W. Price’s new book, Revealing Heaven: The Christian Case for Near-Death Experiences, and includes some insights from Dr. Jeffrey Kripal, Rice University, on the pliable, and non-dogmatic nature of NDE’s. (Houston Chronicle)
- Ty Scott Anderson continues his parapsychologically oriented vlog series with a critique of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI.) (Tyler Logica)
- The popular rise of ‘ghost hunting’ groups is seen by many in parapsychology as a wasted resource. Due to lack of proper training, what could be an army of engaged citizen scientists collecting relevant data sets, turns into a motley mass of curiosity seekers and misinformed folk celebrities. Loyd Auerbach is one of the parapsychologists seeking to inform the ghost hunting community about the science behind their pursuits in the hopes that this popular expression of interest in anomaly can help support the field of parapsychology itself. A recent article on the Seeks Ghosts blog, featuring his work, outlines some of what he feels is “information all ghost hunters should know.” (Seeks Ghosts)
- Director of the AWARE Study, Dr. Sam Parnia, a critical care doctor and director of resuscitation research at the Stony Brook University School of Medicine, discusses his recent book Erasing Death: The Science That Is Rewriting the Boundaries Between Life and Death, which details how advances in resuscitation medicine are changing our views on the boundaries between life and death. (NPR)
- OnIslam.net features a piece which discusses the relevance of Near Death Experiences from an Islamic perspective. (OnIslam.net)
- An essay from NDE researcher Nancy Evans Bush, which touches on the problems encountered by those recovering from distressing Near Death Experiences. (Dancing Past the Dark)
- What is the evidence for Near Death Experiences? Christopher Gauer interviews Dr. Gary Habermas, of Liberty University, on his research into NDE’s and what implications can be drawn from this phenomena. (The Rumpus)
- For more information on the issue of near death studies, check out the International Association of Near Death Studies, which has a number of resources on their website for further research.
- Also note that the upcoming 2013 IANDS Conference will be held in Arlington, Virginia this year on August 29th through September 1st. The theme of the event is: “Loss, Grief and the Discovery of Hope – Stories and Studies from Near-Death Experiences.” (International Association of Near Death Studies)
- Author and out of body experiencer, Graham Nicholls provides insight into some of the highlights of 130 years of psychical research. (GrahamNicholls.com)
- A short piece from Sarah Devlin looking at the “business of being a psychic.” This is an interesting area to discuss, as it is most often commercial psychics that face the attention, and ire, of debunking skeptics. In traditional societies this function would often be taken by cunning folk, two-headed doctors, hexmeisters, granny doctors, etc. who, in many cases, did not accept direct payment, relying on fear of supernatural reprisal, and the community’s gratitude, to provide resources equivalent to payment. When direct payment enters the equation fraud becomes a much different issue, as do questions of the reality claims being made about the services provided. (The Jane Dough)
- On Skeptiko, Alex Tsakiris interviews Robert Bruce, one of the leading figures in the current discussion around out of body experiences. This talk focuses on some of the darker aspects of OBE, which has become one of the areas that Bruce specializes in, and which also remains an issue of contention among those exploring this area of consciousness. (Skeptiko)
- Tamra Temple has kept up a furious pace in publishing links to digitized declassified documents related to the Stargate Program. One of the recent posts is an interesting summary of the SRI research co-authored by Hal Puthoff, Russell Targ and Ingo Swann. (Startgate Interactive)
- Temple also recently posted a link to Jacques Vallee presenting a talk on “The Software of Consciousness” at the 2007 International Remote Viewing Association conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Stargate Interactive)
- Alexis Brooks has written an overview of Ingo Swann’s life, detailing some of the practical and theoretical work that he did in the field of consciousness studies. (Conscious Life News)
- Dr. Rupert Sheldrake is featured in this talk from TEDxWhitechapel, discussing the ideas behind his recent book The Science Delusion (or Science Set Free if you are dealing with U.S. distributors.) (TEDxWhitechapel)
- On her podcast, Dr. Pat Baccalli recently interviewed Russell Targ about his work on the U.S. government’s Remote Viewing program, and his book The Reality of ESP: A Physicist’s Proof of Psychic Abilities. (The Dr. Pat Show)
- Author Michael Tymn explores the history of physical mediumship, materialization and the work of Arthur J. Wills, past president of the U.S. College of Psychic Science and Research. (White Crow Books)
- Hayley Stevens reviews Will Storr’s latest book The Heretics: Adventures with the Enemies of Science. Storr’s book is the source of some of the more inflammatory comments from James Randi regarding his views on Social Darwinism and eugenics. (Haley is a Ghost)
- This week we have two essays from Edge Realms contributor, and lucid dream researcher, Ryan Hurd discussing the erotic realm of sleep paralysis, and ecstatic encounters during hypnagogic trance.
- Over at The Teeming Brain, Hurd discusses “Real Succubus Tales: Sleep Paralylsis and the Genesis of Erotic Horror.” (The Teeming Brain)
- On his own Dream Studies site, Hurd discusses the “Ecstasy of Lucy Liu: Erotic Encounters in Hypnagogia.” (Dream Studies)
- A recent post by Jeanne Van Bronkhorst contains links to a few of the prominent parapsychology organizations which might be useful for those new to the subject. (Jeanne Van Bronkhorst)
- Robert Mcluhan discusses the sociology of psi in a piece that looks at marginalization in areas like psychedelic studies, civil rights, and parapsychology. (Paranormalia)
- A new post on Jules Paranormal Tour blog reviews Robert McLuhan’s book, Randi’s Prize: What sceptics say about the paranormal, why they are wrong, & why it matters. (Jules Paranormal Tour)
- Audio is now available from the recent Spiritualist National Union event held at the Arthur Findlay Centre, which featured a talk from professor Chris Roe and Dr. Elizabeth Roxburgh, from the University of Northampton. The event’s theme was “reassessing the boundaries between science, psychical research and Spiritualism.” (Spiritualists National Union)
- Truth Theory has posted a brief clip from Things They Don’t Want You to Know, featuring the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Laboratory. (Truth Theory)
- The Global Consciousness Project, an offspring of the PEAR lab, is featured in this recent list of the “10 Most Bizarre Branches of Parapsychology,” a succinct bit of psi friendly link bait. (Best Psychology Degrees)
- The Searcher Group brings us an interview with Dr. Caroline Watt, senior Lecturer in Psychology, and founding member of the Koestler Parapsychology Unit, at the University of Edinburgh. (The Searcher Group)
- Peter Rogerson reviews Stephen Frosh’s recent book, Hauntings: Psychoanalysis and Ghostly Transmissions. (Magonia)
- Peter Lewis reviews Roger Clarke’s recent book, A Natural History of Ghosts. (Daily Mail)
- Scientists are finding evidence that bees are able to sense the electrical fields in flowers. With the current work being done on creating artificial telepathy, these studies help to define potential avenues for exploring the human senses. (Nature)
Note: Special thanks to Kim Cascone, Sara Veale, Daz Smith of RViewer.com, Bobbie Ann Pimm, Tamra Temple, Tom Ruffles, of the Society for Psychical Research, Jack Hunter, Editor at Paranthropology Journal, and Matt Staggs, Editor at Disinfo.com, for a number of links included in this edition of Reality Sandwich’s Psi-in-the-News.
